John and Charlotte Henderson came across each other in the year 1934 in a zoology class at the University of Texas. John, 21, at that moment, sat exactly behind Charlotte Curtis and he immediately noticed her. Charlotte too didn’t “mind his looking over her shoulder.”
Now 80 years after and now the two are rejoicing on their 80th wedding anniversary which is being considered by The Guinness World Records as officially the oldest living married couple. The two has a together age of 211 years and 175 days and not long ago celebrated about 80 years of being together.
Although this is not the first time John’s first world record. He alongwith carries the record of the oldest living former University of Texas football player. Though the two of them don’t exactly remember how long they’ve been together, according to John, “I remember the wedding day, the day we got married, as though it were yesterday because it’s so vivid in my mind”.
“I have to ask him how long we’ve been married because, from year to year, I just forget,” said Charlotte Henderson, as per KVUE. They tied the knot post 5 years after meeting at the time of the Great Depression in the year 1939. Their marriage occasion only had two guests. “It took her five years to make up her mind that she wanted to get married,” John said jokingly.
Post tieing the knot together, Charlotte resorted to teaching in Houston and John coached football and basketball. They also revealed that they spent $7 while their honeymoon by staying in a hotel located in San Antonio. The two now live in a retirement community in Austin, Texas.
Their nephew, named Jason Free being the one who connected to the Guinness Book of Records, said the two are as now still planning for the future by saying, “They don’t dwell on the past. You won’t hear them say, ‘Oh, if only it were 1952 again, everything would be great.’ They are still making plans for their future together.” He further goes on, “They are a wonderful couple, and an example of a very happy couple — glad to be around each other, travel together, and live life.”
The two though had no children during their such long marriage which few turn into a joke claiming it to be the reason for their longevity.
He further advises that exercise has been the major factor in their health.
His suggestion is “live life in moderation and is cordial to your spouse.”
“In our ages, we’ve slowed down somewhat. We used to go on cruises, but now we have to take it easy. We like watching sports and talking about what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
To rejoice in their 80 years of togetherness, 106-year-old John picked up 105-year-old Charlotte in a 1920s roadster together with a bouquet, resembling not too much like their first date.
